This is a guide to conducting one’s life based on spiritual principles Arunachalem has found within the teachings of the Bagavadgita (the author’s spelling). Human life can be seen as a spiritual quest that begins with doubt. By dispelling doubt, rather than ignoring or yielding to it, one overcomes the tendency to consider the quest irrational or delusional. Through three disciplines—commitment, conviction, and courage—one can pursue the quest for inner transformation. The author often refers to a significant religious metaphor from the Hindu Upanishads: the bow (Om), the arrow (atman), and the mark or target (Brahman). To attain the state of mind needed to accomplish one’s quest, one begins with meditation on higher values (drawing the bow) to divest from material longings. This is followed by true commitment to religious teaching and a steadiness of purpose (aiming and releasing the arrow), which leads to what is called right, or selfless, action (merging with Brahman or universal consciousness). Living selflessly, sometimes acting in anonymity, requires courage.

Arunachalam, originally from Sri Lanka and now residing in Australia and working as a medical practitioner, has consolidated his diverse beliefs through theosophy and guided meditation practices. He reveals his wide-ranging spiritual tolerance by quoting from diverse works such as the Bhagavad Gita, the Holy Bible, and the works of Carl Jung. His composition is couched in sincere prose, and his grasp of many key spiritual concepts is impressive. He has undertaken a complex task—to explain the inner workings of the spiritual path—that at times seems to merit a much longer work than what is offered here. His guidebook serves as a basic primer for readers pursuing the quest he considers vital to spiritual transformation, with the quoted sources offering a signpost to further study.

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